Whodunit baffles police

Vehicle of missing Bedford man found near city after Louisiana trip

John Alexander of Bedford may have gone to Shreveport, La., to gamble, but his car ended up in the rolling Canadian River breaks north of Amarillo with blood in it and few clues where the driver is.

"His wife said he went there to gamble at the casinos," said Lt. Ed Smith, coordinator of the Potter/Randall Special Crimes Unit. "She said he was taking a couple to Dallas, but we don't know anything about them."

The case is a jumble of clues, such as the 1995 Nissan Altima registered to Alexander being found at about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday off Givens Road with some of his personal possessions in it, but both of the car's license tags were a half-mile farther to the west in a draw, Smith said.

The blood in the car has led law enforcement officials to approach the case as a possible death or a serious assault.

"There was enough blood to indicate someone bled profusely, and there was an attempt to clean up the blood," said Potter County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Ken Farren. "If you're asking if it was enough to cause death, probably not based on the blood alone."

Alexander lives in Bedford, in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, and his wife had not reported him missing when police called her Tuesday night. She subsequently filed a missing person report, Smith said.

Family members have not heard from Alexander since Monday when he phoned his wife to say he was on the way home, said his sister Deena Alexander Garza.

Law enforcement officials conducted a coordinated ground and air search with deputies and a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter over the rolling pastures filled with mesquite and yucca around the area.

"We searched mainly the crime scene area, north along 287 and west on Givens," Farren said. "We've expanded the investigation to Bedford and Shreveport, and we're monitoring any activity on his personal property like his cell phone, credit cards or his driver's license."

Officials are asking for the public's help in solving the case.

"We're hoping someone saw something in the area or saw hitchhikers on Dumas Drive," Smith said.

Alexander is described in a Potter County Sheriff's news release as a white male, 42 years old, 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighing 240 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

The 1995, four-door Altima is dark blue. It carried Texas license plates that read G88-CNZ, according to the release.

Anyone with information can call Special Crimes at 378-9468 or the Potter County Sheriff's office at 379-2900.